Beat Your Wife, Sue The Airline

Plenty of people have gotten drunk on airplanes. Plenty of people have been charged with domestic violence. I'm not sure how many have combined the two, and then sued the airline (which doesn't mean it never happened). If McDonald's can be sued for hot coffee spills, and bars can be held accountable for over-serving customers, can an airline be held responsible for a passenger drinking too much and later allegedly beating his wife? The Chicago Tribune had the story last week (yes, the wife is part of the lawsuit, too):

Fortified with Burgundy wine allegedly supplied at 20-minute intervals by United crew members during the December 2006 trip, Yoichi Shimamoto became so inebriated "that he could not manage himself," according to a lawsuit filed Dec. 5 in U.S. District Court in Tampa.Shimamoto was arrested, accused of disorderly conduct and battery after he struck his wife, Ayisha, six times, injuring her face and upper lip as they were heading through U.S. Customs in San Francisco, the complaint said.